Thiago Silva Happy that Move to Blackzilians Showed in His UFC on Fuel TV 6 Fight

Sometimes a change of scenery and tactics is necessary for a fighter to get the jumpstart that his career needs. Such was the case for Thiago Silva.

Silva for years was a member of American Top Team, but after going 1-2 with an additional no contest on his resume, he felt he needed to shift gears. So he packed up his bags and move over to the Blackzilians camp that features the likes of Rashad Evans, Alistair Overeem, Melvin Guillard and numerous other top names.

A loss to Alexander Gustafsson prompted the move and it has worked well because through his first fight with the team, the results have been flawless.

“It was a hard fight. Nedkov is a tough fighter,” said Silva during Fuel TV’s post-fight show. “The second round, he got me with a good punch, but I’m a tough guy and I’m here to do my job. I never give up.”

And he didn’t give up. Despite dropping to the canvas in round two, courtesy of a Nedkov overhand right, Silva took full advantage of an opportunity in the third round to turn the tide back to his favor.

Something about Nedkov was different in round three, like he just deflated before our very eyes. Silva noticed and that was all he needed.

“I saw his face,” said Silva in his post-fight interview. “He just changed his face, so I decided to shoot his legs and put him down. I just used the right opportunity.”

Moments after planting Nedkov on the mat, Silva finished him off with an arm-triangle choke that forced the Bulgarian to tap.

“Since I moved to the Blackzilians, I’m having good training, good coach, good teammates; so that’s the result.”

As far as what’s next, Silva doesn’t yet know, and doesn’t really care to call out a specific fighter. With his renewed training, the one thing he is sure about is that he wants to build off of this victory and take another step up in competition and step towards an eventual crack at the title.

Silva knows that he’s not next in line, or perhaps even considered among “the mix” just yet, but like most fighters, the title is his ultimate goal.

“I want to fight with the best fighters in my division,” said Silva. “Doesn’t matter who it’s going to be. I want to fight the tough guys and I want to be a champion one day. I want the title and I’m working hard for this.”